Relax, put your feet up! An easyGOpro product review

Written by Devin Faulkner

I admit, this is a difficult subject to write about, for those who have read my Healthy Midlife articles in the past, you know I am a bit of a joker, and love a good double entendre or the obvious pun. This subject matter is ripe with sophomoric opportunity. There’s a good chance I will not be able to contain myself, although, I want you to seriously consider what have to say and experienced on this subject.

I’d like to talk about defecating, also referred to as; “dropping a deuce”, “pinching a loaf”, “taking a poo”, “build a log cabin”, “ride the porcelain bus”, “talk to a man about a mule”, “push out a Grumpy”, or just plain “crap”, if you’re into the whole brevity thing.

Most of the world’s population accomplishes this bodily function in the squatting defecation posture, while in the Western Culture, a sitting defecation posture is used. In recent years, there has been some debate about the possible medical complications of using a sitting posture, such as hemorrhoids, constipation, hernias, diverticulosis, Inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer to name a few.

I have a history of colon cancer in my family, my Dad had it in the late 1980’s. His was caught early, treated successfully (surgery) and did not re-occur. Watching what he went through was encouragement enough to make an effort not to follow in his footsteps on this part of his life experience. That means a colonoscopy every 5 years, an unpleasant but slight inconvenience when looking at the big picture.

A few months ago, I discovered this discussion about toilet posture, and the associated products that proponents of the squatting posture tout as possible solutions to the aforementioned issues that may or may not be caused by the good ol’ American “sit-down”. They made their case well enough that I’d thought I’d give a Toilet stool a try. By the way I just made you say “Toilet Stool” to yourself – twice!

Looking at the products on Amazon.com the three leaders in the field are: The Squatty Potty, easyGOpro, and Step and Go Toilet Step. There are various sizes and shapes, the Squatty Potty even has a bamboo model, but they all do the same thing, they raise your feet and legs up about 5 to 8 inches to bring your body into a semi-squatting position. IMPORTANT NOTE, all three of these companies state on their web sites that their products are not intended to be full-on step stool, and caution not to put full body weight on them. DO NOT STAND ON or USE AS A STEP STOOL.

I opted for the standard 7.5 inch easyGOpro, it has a sleeker look to it, and at the time was the least expensive model. Since then, it looks like the Squatty Potty has lowered the price and all of them are around $25-$27 dollars for the plastic version & $70 for the bamboo adjustable model, as of July 2015. The step I received is just as pictured and well made, does not slip. It stores underneath the front or the side of the toilet and does not get in the way or clutter up the bathroom.

If you are like many Americans and suffer from constipation, an easyGopro is not the complete solution. Diet and dehydration are big the factors. Eating a proper amount of fiber drastically improves bodily functions. If you aren’t getting enough fiber, start off slowly, a small bowl of something like Fiber One, or good ol’ Raisin Bran in the morning, let your body get used to that and gradually increase. DRINK MORE WATER! Over indulging on fiber makes for a bad day! (Voice of experience; perhaps…)

I’ve been using the easyGOpro for about 6 months now. In my opinion it does help make ‘things’ easier. If I had to put a number on the effectiveness of the easyGOpro, I’d give it a 20 – 40% improvement over the traditional sitting posture. Well worth the cost of the product.

I know this product isn’t for everyone. Overcoming ingrained behavior can be one of the most difficult things to do. In my case it wasn’t a problem, and I think it’s made my life a little easier, for very little cost.

About Healthy Midlife

We’re four middle agers seeking health, wellness and fitness information to support a healthy & happy midlife. We share what we learn, what’s working & not working plus anything else that catches our fancy in our midlife journey.

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